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Class 12 Psychological Disorders: cheat sheet
CBSE Psychology. How abnormal behaviour is understood: the four Ds, two views of abnormality and the harm of stigma, how ideas changed over history, classification systems, and the models that explain it.
Key ideas
- Abnormal psychology studies behaviour that is maladaptive, its causes and its treatment, as a science rather than a judgement of people.
- One view sees abnormality as deviation from social norms, which changes with culture and time; another sees it as behaviour that harms well-being and growth.
- Stigma makes people ashamed to seek help; psychological problems are best seen like any other health condition.
- Ideas moved from early organic theories (Hippocrates, Galen) to the scientific Age of Reason, the Reform Movement and community care.
- Classification systems let professionals share a common language: DSM-5 (American Psychiatric Association) and ICD-10 (WHO, used in India).
- Models explain from different sides: biological, psychodynamic, behavioural, cognitive, humanistic-existential and socio-cultural.
- Today’s bio-psycho-social approach holds that biological, psychological and social factors act together, so no single model explains enough.
Remember
| The four Ds | deviance, distress, dysfunction, danger |
| Diathesis-stress model | a predisposition (diathesis) + vulnerability + stressors acting together |
| Kinds of factors | biological (e.g. genes); psychological (e.g. severe stress); socio-cultural (e.g. lack of social support) |
| Deinstitutionalisation | moving care from institutions to the community |
| Book definitions | anxiety: a vague, unpleasant feeling of apprehension; obsession: an idea one cannot stop thinking about; compulsion: an act one feels the need to repeat |
Watch out
- Treating one D, such as being different, as enough to call behaviour abnormal.
- Mixing up the classifications: DSM-5 is from the American Psychiatric Association, ICD-10 from the WHO.
- Using chapter terms to label a friend or oneself: only trained professionals assess, and it takes far more than a textbook.
Worked example
Match each of these Ds of abnormality with its meaning: (a) deviance (b) dysfunction (c) danger. Choose from: different, extreme or unusual; possibly harmful to the person or others; interfering with daily activities.
Working: deviance: different from what is usual; dysfunction: gets in the way of daily activities; danger: possible harm
Answer: (a) different, extreme or unusual (b) interfering with daily activities (c) possibly harmful to the person or others
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